The sword pulsed at her hip—cold, alive, and bound to her will.
It wasn’t just a weapon. It was the end of a legacy.
Ashen’s.
And Rose could feel it breathing now, not with heat, but with the terrible quiet of inevitability. The blade’s song murmured against her skin like a second heartbeat, hollow and deep, forged from the screams of stars long dead.
They were on their way back. The ruins of the shattered temple behind them, the first light of morning bleeding through the trees ahead. But the world had changed. Or maybe it was them.
The bond felt different—less like a tether and more like a shield braced for impact. It thrummed between her and her mates in sharp, jagged pulses.
Not with peace.
With warning.
“We’re being followed,” Alex said. His voice was low, but his fire had alr
